AMF 2006 Report on rating agencies

20 February 2007

The French AMF issued its 2006 report on rating agencies. The AMF has continued to monitor developments in the French and international context in which rating agencies operate, as well as the efforts made by the rating agencies to comply with the rules of conduct published by IOSCO. It has also reviewed the French market in long-term financial rating of companies and structured finance, updating the information presented in the studies conducted over the last two years.

Internationally, the reports by the CESR and the AMF in 2005 converge in their conclusions on the extent to which the large rating agencies have adhered to the principles of the IOSCO Code. European regulators must continue to be vigilant, however, and close dialogue between authorities is indispensable, notably in the fields of unsolicited ratings and ancillary services, against a changing background in which the agencies are being given an increasingly prudential role within the framework of Basel II, and in which they will be acting in a more competitive environment open to new arrivals.

Part I
Part II

© AMF - Autorité des Marchés Financiers